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Eingana
For canon information, see the Mass Effect wiki page for Eingana. This page is for CDN members' non-canon additions. '' Basic Parameters Eingana is a verdant, dangerous, biota-rich garden planet in the very heart of the Terminus Systems, situated in the Omega Nebula -- the same star cluster as the (in)famous Omega station. '''Location': Milky Way / Omega Nebula / Amada System / Third planet * Orbital Distance: 5.3 AU * Orbital Period: 12.2 Earth Years * Keplerian Ratio: 1 * Radius: 5,733 km * Day Length: 20.8 Earth Hours * Atm. Pressure: 0.84atm * Atmosphere type: Nitrogen-oxygen * Surface Temp: 36°C (mean) * Surface Gravity: 0.86g * Mass: 0.69 E.M. * Natural Satellites: 1 (moon Barraiya) * Biosphere type: Carbon-based, Oxygen-breathing, Levo-amino-acid based * Notable Environmental Hazards: Element Zero contamination, unpredictable and violent weather change patterns, powerful and aggressive biota. History Eingana is comparable to Earth, Palaven and Khar'shan in many parameters, boasting a number of rich and potentially habitable biomes, as well as mineral wealth and a number of ancient, pre-Prothean starship wrecks posing significant interest for historians and xenoarcheologists. However, colonization efforts are held back by a set of factors, the instability of the Terminus and the intensely hot climate being the minor ones. The main problem is the planet's biosphere, which is its largest treasure - and the worst drawback. Approximately 127.000 years ago, long before the rise of the Protheans, the planet was contested by two of the prominent races of that cycle - the thoi'han and the inusannon. The conflict for colonization plans escalated into an all out battle of ridiculous magnitude, leaving the orbit, as well as the surfaces of the planet and its moon Barraiya littered with combat starship wrecks, hundreds of large ones and with smaller wrecks numbering in the thousands. Eventually, most wrecks in the orbit were pulled in by the gravity, crashing onto the planet. The event caused a massive contamination of the planet with Element Zero, practically covering the whole planet with varied intensity. As a result, out of all known garden worlds, Eingana is second only to Thessia in the amount of eezo in the surface environment, and the gap is quite marginal. Additionally, a radioactive contamination is present, however, most of the isotopes have decayed to safe or tolerable levels, leaving this problem a minor concern for researchers and potential colonists. Interestingly enough, traces of actual colonization of the planet are still to be found. Was that due to small colony sizes, political turmoil, end of the cycle or the eezo-poisoning of the environment is left up to debate. A series of extinction events was caused by the gigantic eezo spill and radioactive poisoning of the biosphere. However, the remarkably varied and robust Einganan biosphere adapted quickly, with the remaining species adapting to the changed environment and new ones springing up over an evolutionary small period of time passed since the contamination. A wide variety of species acquired tendencies to develop biotic individuals, and a number of species developed to be natural biotics, similar to numerous Thessian biota. The biosphere developed to be energetic and extremely aggressive, with the level of danger easily comparable to Tuchanka and Parnack. Environment Atmosphere Eingana possesses a Nitrogen-Oxygen atmosphere typical for carbon-lifeform garden worlds. It's not particularly dense, less so than the Earth's, but has a significantly higher oxygen content due to the amount of vegetation. The upper layers boast a thick and stable ozone layer, providing a reliable protection against solar radiation. Thankfully, the atmosphere lacks uncommon toxic components, making it completely safe for breathing, save for some localized pollen and spore outbreaks. The overall humidity is rather high, quite uncomfortably so in the tropical zone. The planet's atmosphere is characterized by quick and unpredictable weather changes and unpredictable wind patterns. Sudden typhoons and hurricanes are possible at any time, though they are not overly intense. Lithosphere Eingana has constant volcanic activity. The crust is subdivided into a large number of small plates, giving rise to an unusually large number of small volcanoes, mountain chains and countless geysers and hot springs all around the planet. Land quakes are frequent, but are mostly weak. The lithosphere is stabilized by those small instabilities, so to say, with the main hazard being toxic volcanic gas releases in some areas. Volcanic activity contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect keeping the planet's climate so hot, and to the remarkable fertility of the topsoil. The volcanic activity and the chemical makeup of the lithosphere also leads to the fact, that almost all sand on the planet is dark-colored, often black, composed of basalt, magnetite, obsidian and various heavy minerals. Significant deposits of diamonds can be found in some of the older, inactive volcanoes. Due to the amount of basaltic rock and obsidian generated by the planet's volcanism, most beaches are composed of black sand and dark grey rocks, same as the planet's only desert. Hydrosphere The planet has a hydrosphere compared to that of Sur'Kesh and Earth, but large oceans are absent, more than made up for by dozens of large and small seas and great saline lakes. Eingana boasts an impressive freshwater reserve as well, made up by hundreds of large lakes and prominent rivers. The number of smaller pools and water veins is difficult to estimate. Some of the more geologically stable regions have vast systems of water-carrying cave systems contributing to the overall water circulation system on the planet. Eingana has very few arid areas, and even those are rather small, save for one sizeable highland rocky desert, known among explorers as "The Highwaste". Biosphere Depending on the point of view, Eingana's biosphere may be its largest peculiarity. The biodiversity is stunning, featuring a roughly estimated 40 million species. While the number is remarkable by itself, it should be noted that those are, in fact, the survivors of a series of massive extinction waves following the event of heavy global element zero contamination. A remarkable number of species actually turned the contamination in their favour, developing biotic tendencies. A smaller number of species even evolved to be natural biotics, much like the fauna of Thessia. It should be noted, that such drastic evolutionary changes over the relatively brief period of 127.000 years is another source of fascination for xenobiologists. Biotic species include biota of many types, including even some plants, adding to the already outrageous lethality of local life. In the environment of such an intense evolutionary crucible and in presence of so many hazards from predators and competitors, even the fully herbivorous animals and smallest prey species evolved with a number of vicious behavioural patterns and defense mechanisms. Another point of interest is the remarkably convoluted taxonomy of local life. While many types of biota are rather easy to put into the classification groups more common throughout the galaxy, while many others either have very untypical traits, such as photosynthetic cells in some high mammals analogues, or outright defying mainstream taxonomic methods. Attempts of classification based only on visual and behavioural data are doomed to an embarrassing failure. Additionally, different forms of symbiosis, parasitism, microbiome formations and other lines of biological interaction are commonplace and mind-bogglingly complex, making ecological studies even more difficult than taxonomical classification attempts, and at the same time even more interesting for science. Interestingly, some of the hardier, more adaptable off-world species, such as pyjaks, varren, klixen and "space beetles" brought by explorers since the planet's discovery, managed to integrate into the biosphere, forming relatively small, but flourishing populations in the more hospitable regions of the planet. While local biota limits their numbers, preventing typical infestation scenarios, the biosphere of Eingana seems to have accepted them, "like adoptive children", quoting one of the xenoecological surveyors. No sapient species have yet been discovered on Eingana, but the currently very low level of exploration and the enormous biodiversity rich in very complex and high-order lifeforms leave a viable possibility of encountering sapient creatures and possibly even a civilization in earliest stages of development. Potential presence of non-humanoid sapient life with radically different logic and psychology is another line of interest for researchers. Numerous beneficial species have been documented, including edible plants and fungi such as neglabana mold and akkango fruits, and pharmaceutical boons like Somsh-khet. A number of research efforts are undertaken by various organizations, currently in early stages of development, mostly conducted through mobile labs. Private security forces and other types of paramilitary are widely employed and requirements for each hired guard are considerably high. Maintaining a force of low-grade guards is unreasonably inefficient in Eingana's highly dangerous environment. While the local fauna serves as a surprisingly efficient deterrent against pirates, slavers and other "scum of space", this very fauna is the main reason why scientists require efficient, high-performance security. Landmarks "The Highwaste", a large arid plateau, that is known as Eingana's only true desert. It is home to a variety of endemic organisms that are not seen anywhere else on the planet, other, smaller arid areas included. Ancient starship wrecks form numerous landmarks across the globe, some being in a better state than the others. The fact that they haven't worn down to almost nothing over 127 000 years is a testament to how technologically advanced were their creators. With Eingana being largely unexplored and mostly charted only from space, the secrets they may be hiding are still to be uncovered. The planet's difficult terrain, incredibly dangerous biota and particularly heavy eezo contamination in proximity to the wrecks deters most small-time explorers, requiring a prominent organized effort to study the ancient hulls. Such an effort is yet to be organized. Orbit Eingana's orbit, as well as its moon's is littered with remnants of ancient starships. While the absolute majority of wrecks were pulled in by gravity, some remnants still linger, as well as an alarming amount of space debris. Moderate speeds and sufficient KB protection is highly advised on approach and planetfall. While the planet has been seeing increased scientific exploration lately (after the end of R-War in particular), there is currently no significant orbital infrastructure, save for survey and communication satellites. Category:Locations Category:Terminus